Monthly Archive for September, 2016

While walking through the Air Show at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach the weekend of September 10-11, Steve Williams-Baggarly of the Norfolk Catholic Worker was arrested. He had received “ban and bar” letters from the base after previous arrests there. The peace activist has a November 7 court date and faces 6 months in prison for trespassing.

by Steve Williams-Baggarly

The annual Air Show at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach is the Navy’s largest open house in North America. Some quarter of a million people attend it over three days, and this year it hosted some very special guests—all 6500 fifth graders in Virginia Beach Public Schools. All were students in the school system’s STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and were invited to the base on the first day, otherwise closed to the public, for interactive science displays along with their own private Air Show.

The Nevada Desert Experience hosted a Justice for Our Desert event during International Peace Day weekend, September 24-26. For several days, participants gathered for music, discussion, meals and community building before going to the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada nuclear Test Site) on Monday, September 26. Six of the seven of those present were moved to cross the boundary line onto the site. Laura-Marie Taylor, Ming Lai, Susan Dillion, Clementine Cat, George Killingsworth and Robert Majors were arrested for trespass and released on site.

Then, following lunch at the Sekhmet Temple, the activists held a peaceful vigil at Creech drone base.

The group spent the weekend together with the intent to “Invest in PEACE, not war-making and nuclearism! CELEBRATE the advances in nonviolence and the protection of life in our precious desert region! Dance, Sing, Play, Pray, Love enemies, and bring about long-awaited environmental justice to our desert.”

Five women were arrested on September 27 at Beale Air Force Base (AFB) near Marysville, California. The anti-robotic warfare activists are all from northern California, as were most of the other demonstrators at Beale. Many were part of the #ENOUGH movement for justice in opposition to U.S. bombings of innocent civilians.

The demonstration included a camp out at the entrance to Beale AFB. Over a dozen people were present at the prior night’s peace vigil and at the morning’s vigil, when the five women were arrested at 7:30 a.m. – Rev. Sharon Delgado of Nevada City, Shirley Osgood of Grass Valley, Cathy Webster and Chris Nelson of Chico and Toby Blome of El Cerrito.

On September 26, activists associated with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) went to the Pentagon to seek a meeting with decision-makers in the Pentagon chain of command, including Secretary Ashton Carter. The group told Pentagon police they wouldn’t leave until they spoke to an official in a position of authority about war crimes committed by the U.S. They asserted that they were following their obligations under the Nuremberg Principles to draw attention to these crimes of U.S. government elected and appointed officials. Although the activists were nonviolent, the Pentagon police placed 21 men and women under arrest and charged them with “violation of a lawful order”.

Today, September 24th, is the 48th anniversary of the Milwaukee 14 nonviolent action that burned thousands of class 1-A draft cards, a draft that forced young men and women to “kill or be killed”.

On September 22, 2016, 14 people – Omar, Don, Roberta, Tiffany, Bob, Harvey, Sue, Joe, Phil, Eugene, Tom, Sue, Jim and Don – gathered on the Marquette University campus to close down the Department of Defense’s (DoD) new system to teach young men and women to “kill or be killed”. Since before 1968, students, faculty and citizens have asked Marquette, a Catholic, Christian University, to be faithful to the Gospel and close down the military, ROTC, NROTC and AFROTC DoD divisions on campus.

Supporters, including REM’s Michael Stipe and Daniel Ellsberg, launch new campaign at FreeChelsea.com demanding U.S. government drop charges stemming from suicide attempt

LEAVENWORTH, KS––Chelsea Manning has ended a hunger strike that she began five days ago, after the U.S. military has agreed to move forward with the recommended treatment for her gender dysphoria. However, the Army is continuing to threaten Chelsea with solitary confinement for charges directly related to her attempt to take her own life, even though it was the government’s own mistreatment of Chelsea that drove her to it.

Boston, MA – Three activists from the anti-nuclear group Cape Downwinders were arrested at the State House on Friday, September 9. After a rally at the Beacon Street entrance, the group delivered a letter to Governor Baker calling for him to demand the Nuclear Regulatory Commission immediately close Pilgrim nuclear reactor in Plymouth. Their action was prompted by another emergency scram that occurred on September 6th due to malfunctioning safety equipment. After a year of increase oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pilgrim remains at the lowest NRC safety rating, one step from federally mandated shutdown. This is the second shutdown in three weeks due to degrading equipment. Pilgrim remains closed today.

FREEDOM by Norman Lowry Our world cannot survive without a sense of meaning, in particular one that will lead us to the depths of love. —Unknown Freedom is the highest of my basic needs. I need freedom more than I need to breathe or to survive. Where most seem to see freedom as being a […]

Chelsea Manning Begins Hunger Strike to Protest Bullying by Prison and US Government

Today, [September 9] after years of requesting the care she needs for gender dysphoria, Chelsea Manning has released a statement about the start of her hunger strike.

Chelsea is demanding written assurances from the Army she will receive all of the medically prescribed recommendations for her gender dysphoria and that the “high tech bullying” will stop. “High tech bullying,” is what Chelsea describes as “the constant, deliberate and overzealous administrative scrutiny by prison and military officials.”